A. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of jewelry in the form of necklaces and bracelets and particularly clasps for releasably coupling charms to a pearl necklace or pearl bracelet.
B. Background of the Invention
This invention is in the field of necklaces and bracelets formed of strands of beads, and particularly necklaces and bracelets formed as strands of pearls. While beads of regular and irregular or even random shapes are well known, one of the universally popular shapes of beads in necklaces is spheres, and some of the most coveted spheres are pearls. As is well known, pearl necklaces and bracelets are available with pearls of many different qualities and sizes and of different lengths, and with mating coupling elements at the opposite ends of each strand for releasably joining these ends.
The present invention is concerned primarily with strands of pearls, which may be valuable cultured pearls or synthetic pearls or strands of other spherical elements including inexpensive beads of natural or man-made materials. In all these strands, the pearl or bead element has a hole drilled or otherwise formed through its center through which a cord is threaded to create the strand, and spacer elements are generally situated on the strand between each two adjacent pearls or beads. Such a spacer element may be a knot formed in the strand itself or may be a small independent element having its own central bore hole through which the cord is threaded. If the spacer element is spherical or generally spherical, the dimension of the space between beads established by such spacer element will be the diameter of the spacer element. The size of such space is a matter of design and aesthetic choice as regards the dimensional relationship of the spacer to the bead.
While pearl necklaces are generally appreciated for their simple elegance, as where the pearls are essentially identical in size, color and spacing, the present invention provides an opportunity for persons who wear pearl necklaces or bracelets to personalize or creatively modify the appearance of such necklaces or bracelets by attaching a charm or other decorative element of personal choice to the strand. Such charms should be easily attachable and removable to return the necklace to it original design or removable to allow attachment of a different charm. Clasps or attachment means take various forms; however, all known prior art clasps create awkward looking extensions from the simple and pure elegance of a typical and basic strand of pearls. Known clasps have shapes totally different from and esthetically incompatible and conflicting with the original simple elegance of a strand of pearls as seen in prior art patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,314,389, 4,530,221, 4,815,180, 7,007,507 and US2004/0194503. The present invention addresses this problem and provides a solution that is both practical and esthetically compatible with the basic strand of pearls appearance.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,389 of the above-noted prior art publications, a jewelry clasp of generally rectangular shape releasably joins opposite ends of a necklace; in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,221 a round cylindrical can-like device fully encompasses a single pearl with a flat blade spring element to releasably capture the pearl in the container; in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,180 a ring shaped jewelry clasp is formed of two half-rings connected by a single pivot joint and a single snap clasp, and no additional internal latching element; in the published application US2004/0194503 A1 a pearl necklace clasp is formed generally as a cage that encompasses a single pearl while leaving substantial areas of the pearl surface to be visible; and in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,770 an adjustable ring latch has one arcuate arm that slides circumferentially within and engages a mating arcuate arm.
Each of these prior art devices has its own specific function, but none is even close to having the objectives, function, structure and aesthetic harmony with a strand of pearls, as occurs with the present invention. More particularly, features of the preferred embodiments of the jewelry clasp of the present invention include:
(a) a torus-shaped ring,
(b) dual latches where the outer latch covers, protects and bars the inner latch from opening unless the outer latch is first opened,
(c) formation of a closed ring by each of the latch arms, independently of the other,
(d) the hiding of the inner latch arm within the outer arm,
(e) the outer latch arm combining with a base arm to form a complete torus,
(f) the entire torroid clasp having an appearance that so conforms to the spherical pearls it encompasses, to appear to some as a natural compliment or component element of the strand of pearls it engages,
(g) the clasp securely engaging the strand of pearls at a location that covers only a portion of adjacent ends of two adjacent pearls, while leaving the major parts of the pearls fully visible,
(h) the two latches being easy to operate, secure, but having their respective hook or catch portions essentially invisible; and
(i) having release projections easily accessible.
The above-described features of the new invention constitute some of the many distinctions and advantages of this invention applied separately or in selected combinations over the known prior art. Some of these distinctions are further presented below in the recitations of objects of this invention.